IN 1926 ,

Edward Hopper and his wife Josephine spent seven weeks in Rockland, Maine, arriving by steamboat at Tilson Avenue. He had previously enjoyed productive visits to Monhegan Island and Ogunquit; those were renowned artist destinations while Rockland was at the time famed more for industry and its hard-working reputation. Hopper, who is celebrated for his images of New York City and its disconnection, found inspiration in Rockland’s architecture and industry, creating more than twenty watercolors of the city’s buildings, transportation systems, and lime quarries.

Macbeth Gallery in New York City launched the career of Andrew Wyeth. Two years later, in 1939, he first depicted Rockland, a subject that he painted through 1998. Wyeth, who was raised in rural Pennsylvania and summered in Cushing, Maine, is revered for his visionary practice in rural isolation and sought out nature even within his scenes of shipyards and busy waterfronts, as he united the architecture with the local vegetation.

Edward Hopper and Andrew Wyeth: Rockland, Maine brings together these two artists, marking their first exhibition together in 20 years. Their works—including five watercolors that the Farnsworth conserved specifically for this exhibition—are paired with archival photographs of the subjects depicted within Rockland. Organized by the Farnsworth, in collaboration with the Brandywine Museum of Art, curators provide new perspectives and scholarship after mining the archives at the museum and Rockland Historical Society. Through these artists’ works, the exhibition presents a rich narrative of Rockland’s history and foregrounds how a place can be a springboard to unique artistic pursuits.

The quarries, railroads, ships, houses, and lighthouses that once surrounded—and in some cases still surround—the Farnsworth Art Museum provided rich material for Hopper and Wyeth. Audiences will enjoy the rare opportunity to explore the stylistic comparisons and the creative processes of these two giants of American art, as well as the commonalities and divergences of their interests in subject matter, side by side—in the very community where the works were created.

Edward Hopper and Andrew Wyeth: Rockland, Maine is organized by the Farnsworth Art Museum in collaboration with the Brandywine Museum of Art. The exhibition is supplemented by a fully illustrated catalogue. • top : Edward Hopper (1882–1967), Haunted House, 1926, watercolor on paper, 14 x 20 inches. Farnsworth Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1971.1775 © 2023 Heirs of Josephine N. Hopper / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS). middle : Andrew Wyeth (1917–2009), Rockland Harbor, 1954, watercolor on paper, 10 1/2 x 13 5/8 inches. Farnsworth Art Museum, Bequest of Edward Hyde Cox, 1998.17.3 © 2023 Wyeth Foundation for American Art/Artists Rights Society (ARS) bottom: Catalogue for Edward Hopper and Andrew Wyeth: Rockland, Maine